Abortion? Let's take the chill pill

Orville Taylor

Now the good doctor has, like a clothes peg, squeezed his head and opened his mouth to touch a subject that has caused many belly pains and headaches among the Jamaican population. Sounding off like his colleague Lisa Hanna, interestingly member of parliament in the same parish, he is advocating the decriminalising of wilful termination of pregnancy by or at the request of pregnant women. Like the process that led to the pregnancy in the first place, this is not something to jump into without forethought and certainly not without enough knowledge of what one is getting into.

The first caution is that Dr Dayton Campbell was speaking in his capacity as a politician and not as a medical doctor. Lamenting the 80 per cent of pregnancies in the 15-19 age group being unplanned (duh!!) and the large number being untimed, he argues that pregnancies often blight the future of the poster child pregnant, but promising 16-year-old. Campbell carefully and selectively cited a 2006 Hope Enterprise study, revealing that "60 per cent of respondents support the legalisation of termination of pregnancy under 'special conditions'," such as "incest, endangerment of the woman's physical or mental health and/or life."

Now, my friend Dayton convinces me why he might likely become a good lawyer in his party, because of how well he translates the data for his purposes. The crux of the above-mentioned quote is that there is not approval of abortion per se. Rather, it is toleration and excusing of it under very unusual circumstances.

Try as one may, 'abaashan' is strongly socially disapproved of in Jamaica, as it offends ecclesiastical norms and popular sentiments. This is still a country steeped in the legacy of the plantation, where the black majority was stripped of their essence over several centuries. Fecundity and virility were, and still are, highly prized. For this reason, the derisive terms of 'man guinep' and 'mule' are often not far in front of epithets such as 'walking cemetery'.

Whatever the circumstances, even where there is rape, abortion is basis for shame. How many women who were raped would willingly admit that they have gone under the suction and removed the impediment and evidence of their violation? Even so, the very same Hope study revealed that while abortion was relatively prevalent among teenagers, "62 per cent of the adolescents interviewed ... heard of Postinor 2 and 90 per cent know where to access it". Yet despite this knowledge, "they still see it as an 'abortion agent' [that] stigmatises those who use it".

Now, I am not saying that I agree or disagree with Campbell regarding his stance. My contention is that he must be honest when raising points to support his argument. I suspect that he means well, but his justification is the "... need to address these women who burden the public-health system after botched abortion attempts". To commence from such a standpoint means that the discourse and proposed policy change is beginning on the wrong foot.

One must start with an understanding of what goes on in the mind of the person contemplating a termination and the possible impact of her choice. Like the pregnancy itself, the effect of the discontinued pregnancy lasts for the rest of one's life. Even from a purely medical perspective, an abortion, however expertly done, can result in the individual not being able to conceive again. In the same way that the pregnancy of the immature teen can itself carry risks, the abortion might render the 'victim' childless for life, simply because of the trauma to the delicate, underdeveloped reproductive system.

GUILT OF KILLING AN INNOCENT

Then, there is the lifelong feeling of guilt for having 'killed an innocent'. Myriad accounts and research findings report that these women oftentimes develop psychological pathologies. These scars are less visible than the ravaged endometrium but the long-term repercussions have yet to be measured. For example, does Campbell know what is the relationship between abortions and later abusive behaviour? Is there a correlation between the incidence of abortion and other negative behaviours later?

True, we know that, as Campbell argues, many young girls have used abortion to correct a 'misstep' and have gone on to great things. Furthermore, many women excise the constant physical reminder and 'make something meaningful of their lives'. However, many other anecdotes also exist about erstwhile teen mothers who have gone through one or even two adolescent conceptions and carried the child(ren) to live birth. These, including one of my esteemed colleagues in both media and the academy, have demonstrated exemplary careers worthy of emulation by other women who have stumbled. Others have, through rape, yet carried and produced wonderfully blessed children.

IS IT REALLY A SIN?

By the way, do you know that the Bible doesn't explicitly prohibit abortion, despite the doctrine of the various churches? The commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" can hardly be used as justification, because, this would contradict all the punitive laws in the Old Testament, as well as the mandates during the many biblical wars. Indeed, since Genesis 2:7 suggests that life begins when the first breath is taken, abortion might not biblically be a sin. Finally, Exodus 21:22-24 provides a fine if a man causes the miscarriage of another's child. If the Bible explicitly considered a foetus a child, the old Mosaic Law would prescribe death.

Nevertheless, there is merit in much of what Campbell is seeking to do, and I agree that the penalties under the archaic Offences against the Person Act are too harsh and need revision. A mature and modern view is seen in the 1973 case of Roe v Wade, which gives a woman freedom to abort in the first trimester of the pregnancy and is more just and practical. However, there is no substitute for proper sex and reproductive education and punishment for sex offenders. Abortion is much too serious to be seen as another type of contraception.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in sociology at the UWI and a radio talk-show host. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.